Infant&#39;s undergarment



Oct. 10, 1950 M. A. BRENNAN 2,525,395

INFANT s' UNDERGARMENT Filed Aug. 14, 1947 I INVENTOR.

I I 772003 Cbfipamwuv BY q Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE) 2,525,396 7 INFANTS UNDERGARMENT Mary A. Brennan, Oak Park, Ill. Application August 14, 1947, Serial No. 768,543

This invention pertains to an improved protective garment. Though particularly directed for use of infants, this invention can be readily adapted for use by adults and wherever a protective undergarment of the diaper-like type is required.

Conventional diapers or garments of similar type are well known and widely used. as protective garments to be worn closest to the body. However, they require-special techniques in their fastening about the buttocks of the infant to serve in a useful capacity. The time honored fastener, or safety pin, has upheld these garments for many a generation, but the dangers of using such afastener are well known to many parents as well as their offspring who howl their displeasure when accidently pricked by this instrument.

Likewise, diapers or protective garments of similar nature cannot be modified to fit the girth of the wearer. A small baby or newly born youngster requires a smaller diaper while an older baby requires a larger garment. It therefore is necessary as the baby grows to replace the smaller size garments with larger if the youngster is to have effective protection.

Again, newly born as wellas slightly older babies who are unable to sit up, require protective garments of rather longer length, since their elimination is likely to creep under them and work itself upwards. For this reason the garment must be fitted well above their buttocks and preferably even above their waist. However, garments of this type when designed are very likely to be somewhat loosely fittedabout thel-eg portions of the wearer or infant and therefore because of their length require anumberof" safety pins to do a satisfactory and safe job of fastening and retaining the eliminations until the changeover. Consequently, most garments of this type are either ill-fitted or not fastened properly and therefore the infant becomes fretful and cross because of the irritation caused by such garments.

As the baby grows quite obviously he increases not only in girth but also in length. Most parents, particularly those who have had experience, design the diapers so that they can be in creased dimensionally and thus extend the life of usefulness of such diapers. However, such diapers require a special folding. And in case of young infants, the larger diapers when folded into several layers are bulky. This is particularly true between the feet where the number of folds are tripled and consequently a small infant is quite uncomfortable.

3 Claims. (Cl. 128284) Newly born or extremely young babies whose navel is not completely healed require a sd'called belly band to keep the abdomen in a relatively fixed position and to protect the umbilical cord opening or unhealed navel. Babies, and particularly the male infants, lying on their backs when urinating have a tendency to soil upwardly and thus wet the abdomen, the belly band and diaper; Quite obviously the band must be changed and be replaced, and to many mothers as well as the babies, this is akin to a surgical operation for-the soiled dressing placed "about the navel must b e changed under aseptic conditions to prevent the possibility of infection. Conventional diapers even if fitted tightly about'the abdomen, do not prevent wetting of the abdominal band and therefore do not give the desired protection.

It therefore is an object of my invention to pro- Vide an undergarment that can be readily and easily donned.

A further object of my invention is to provide an article of underwear suitable for infants that fits snugly not only around the legs but also about the abdomen. j

a A still further object of my invention is to'prog 'Vide a diaper for infant use that is readily ad:

justable and can be used on the newly bornas' well as the more fully developed infants.

Another and still further object of my invention is to provide a diaper for infants that will reduce substantially the possibility of infection of the navel in newly born infants by eliminating greatly the necessity for frequent changing of the abdominal band about the abdomen-of the baby. e I A still further object of my invention is'to pro vide a' diaper that canbe used as a surgical abdominal band.

A still further and additional object of my invention is to provide a diaper that will not interfere with movement of the limbs of a child and still provide adequate protection against seepage of eliminations.

These and other objects, adaptations, modifications and extensions can be readily made by one skilled in this art and still be within the scope of the spirit of the fundamental principles underlying this invention as described lueidly and in detail hereinbelow and as exemplified in the preferred embodiment illustrated in the at tached drawing forming a part of this disclosure.

Figure 1 shows a, plan view of the essential features and elements of my improved article of wear.

g re 3 $.h9Ws the :article assembled in a condition as it would appear if worn by a person or infant.

In the drawings it should be noted that the reference characters used therein refer to like numbers used herein after describing various elements and components of said elements and to more clearly point out fully the essentials of the fundamental principles underlying this invention.

A sheet IU of flannel or like material substantially square-like in area forms the base of my improved article of wear. The edges l2, I4, [6 and I8 of said sheet I9 are provided preferably but not necessarily with an elastic edging which is well known and does not comprise my invention except in combination with the other elements.

Along one edge such as l2 of said sheet H), which will form the front part of a diaper when the sheet In is folded about the medial'line 20, a

I provide a tuckin pleat 22 by tacking the folds with a few stitches 24. Likewise, on the oppositely disposed side [6, I provide a number ofpleats and tucks 26, 28 and 3D, and these are secured in position at their outermost edge by means of tack stitches 24. If the girth of the child increases with age, one or more tucks can be released and the garment width increased the corresponding width.

In the corners of the sheet I0, I sew in slide fasteners 32 and 34 respectively. However, the two sections 32a and 321) comprising the slide fastener 32 are not sewed in at the same angle. In sewing in the b sections of slide fasteners 32 and 34 respectively, I make a greater oblique angle with the medial line 2ll20. By doing so, I am able to draw a sections of the fasteners '32 and 34 respectively together across the front or forward edge i 2. I thereby obtain a snug fit across the wearers abdomen and at the same time create openings 36 and 38 for the legs. Likewise, by having the b sections sewed in at a more oblique angle than the 0. sections of the slide fasteners 32 and 34, I obtain a full and snug seat portion, which is substantially about the medial.

line 20.

To prevent the slide fastener from opening and to increase further the usefulness of my improved undergarment, I fasten clasp fasteners 40 and 42 to the slide fastener zippers 32 and 34 respectively. The clasp can be used to hold down the undershirt of the child. Thus dangerous pins are avoided. Likewise, to hold up the stockings 1 of the youngster, I provide additional clasps 44 and 46. r

In us the ap r fas ned a out he y of the baby and if required an absorbent pad (not shown) can be inserted in the frontal tuck 22 which is particularly useful for male infants who may wet the abdominal belt. Likewise, a larger pad can be placed between the folds of the pleats 28 and 30 whose interior openings face each other. These openings act as a recess 48 and 50 into which the edges of the absorbent pad (not shown) can be inserted. When the pads are soiled they can be readily removed and new ones inserted.

As the infant grows and his girth increases, the mother can very readily expand the belt line of the diaper by snipping the thread holding the tuck or pleat. Eventually all of these will be removed and the full width of the garment will be available for use.

Though it is obvious that one skilled in the art can develop a number of modifications and extensions, yet these can be considered to be within the scope of the fundamental concepts underlying this invention as defined in the hereunto appended claims.

I claim:

1. An infant, undergarment comprising a sheet of suitable fabric, fastening means mounted about the corners of said sheet, the said fastening means attachable to adjacent corners of said sheet to form therebetween openings, each'of said openings fitting snugly about limbs of the infant, tucks about the waist portion of said sheet adapted to receive and retain in proper position an absorbent padding whereby the waist is held snugly against the abdomen of the infant and the absorbent pad is held firmly in place.

2. In the product of claim 1, wherein the said tucks have openings therein to receive said absorbent pads, and the said openings disposed in facing relationship to each other.

3. In the product of claim 2, wherein the said openings in the tucks that openito face each other are on the same side.

MARY A. BRENNAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

